Chapter 5 introduces the heart of the matter: Gatsby’s dream of Daisy. Through Nick, Gatsby is brought face-to-face with the fulfillment of a dream that he has pursued relentlessly for the past five years of his life. Everything he has done has been, in some sense, tied to his pursuit of Daisy. In a sense, Daisy’s and Gatsby’s encounter marks the book’s high point—the dream is realized. What happens after a dream is fulfilled? Unlike other novels in which characters work to overcome adversity only to have their dreams realized at the end of the book and live happily ever after (or so the implication goes), Gatsby has his dream fulfilled early, suggesting to astute readers that this won’t be the typical rags-to-riches story. The second half of the book describes what happens when one chases, then obtains, one’s dream. The end need not be “happily ever after.”
The chapter opens as Nick returns home, only to find Gatsby’s house “lit from tower to cellar,” with no party in sight, only Gatsby “glancing into some of the rooms.” In an attempt to calm Gatsby’s apparent restlessness, Nick tells him he will phone Daisy and invite her to tea. Gatsby, still trying to play it cool, casually remarks “Oh, that’s all right.” Nick, who now knows a great deal more about how Gatsby functions (and the fact he has spent the last five years of his life chasing a dream), insists on pinning Gatsby down to a date. Gatsby, trying to show his appreciation, suggest he line Nick up with some of his business contacts in order to “pick up a nice bit of money” on the side. Of course, Gatsby is referring to his underworld connections, but what is perhaps so striking about Gatsby’s gesture is the apparent tactlessness of it all. Despite his great wealth, his generosity takes curious and non-traditional forms showing just how far out of touch he really is with the “old money” world into which he wishes entrée.
On the day of the appointed visit, Gatsby arrives an hour in advance, giving us our first glimpse of his vulnerability. Wanting to make sure every detail of his meeting is perfect (meaning it measures up to his dream) Gatsby has Nick’s grass cut and has “a greenhouse” of flowers delivered prior to Daisy’s arrival. Gatsby dresses for the event in a “white flannel suit, silver shirt, a gold-colored tie.” His clothes, like his parties, his house, and his car, are an overt reminder of his newly earned wealth. It is as if he wants to make sure Daisy does not miss the fact that he now has that one thing that eluded him before: money.
When Gatsby arrives, for the first time he shows his vulnerability and uncertainty. Up to this point, he has been collected in every situation, but when facing the biggest challenge he’s faced in years, his sulking, self-conscious behavior is nearly embarrassing—the generally graceful man stammers in fright, not unlike a young boy. For the first time, Jay Gatsby seems unsure of himself.
At one point, in his nervousness, he knocks a broken clock off the mantel, catching it just before it hits the ground. The symbolic nature of this act cannot be overlooked. Although on one level it is just another awkward incident caused by Gatsby’s nervousness, it goes beyond that. The fact the clock is stopped is significant. In a sense, the clock stopped at a specific point in time, trapped there forever, just as Gatsby’s life, in many regards, stopped when he was hit with the realization that while he was poor, he could never have Daisy. Gatsby is, in essence, trapped by his dreams of ideal love with Daisy, just as the clock is trapped in that exact moment when it stopped working. Following this analysis through to its final conclusion, one must wonder if Fitzgerald isn’t also trying to say that Gatsby’s dream stopped his growth in some respects (specifically emotionally); he’s been so busy chasing a dream rather than enjoying reality, that like the clock, he is frozen in time.
As the afternoon unfolds, Jay and Daisy grow more comfortable in each other’s presence. After excusing himself, allowing Daisy and Gatsby the opportunity to be alone together, Nick returns to find Gatsby glowing; “without a word or gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room.” Daisy, too, appears equally moved by the meeting and (not surprisingly) her voice, “full of aching, grieving beauty” gives away her happiness at the meeting. When Gatsby nears the peak of his comfort, he suggests the party adjourn to his house.
As the three people make their way up to and through Gatsby’s mansion, Gatsby revels in the impact his belongings have on Daisy. They have, in essence, accomplished that which he intended: They impress her. In fact, Gatsby is able to “[revalue] everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-love eyes.” Keep this image in mind during Chapter 9, when it is inverted as Gatsby’s father revalues his son based on the beauty and number of his material possessions. In another of the book’s memorable images, Gatsby takes out a pile of shirts and throws them in the air. The shirts keep coming, and Gatsby keeps throwing them. Shirts of every color, every style, and every texture become strewn about the room in a glaringly obvious display of his wealth. How can a man who isn’t well off afford to have such an array of shirts? The shirt’s impact is not lost on Daisy, who is always appreciative of a great display of materialism. In fact, the excess and bounty of Gatsby’s shirts causes her to put her face into them and cry, sad because she’s “never seen such—such beautiful shirts before.” Although a seemingly non-sensical statement, it is really a good indication of her true nature. She isn’t weeping for a lost love; rather she is weeping at the overt display of wealth she sees before her.
